Wichita State makes unprecedented investment in softball with new contract for coach
Kristi Bredbenner turned Wichita State softball into a championship-caliber program without many of the luxuries afforded to power-conference teams.
After guiding the Shockers to back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances for the first time in school history, Bredbenner is receiving a commitment from recently hired athletic director Kevin Saal to begin narrowing that gap.
Bredbenner is now receiving unprecedented financial support from the athletic department, as details of last Thursday’s one-year contract extension, slated to keep the coach at WSU through the 2027 season, were revealed in an open records request by The Eagle.
The new contract gives Bredbenner a 26% raise — her base salary jumps from $134,984 to $170,000 for this season — and increased the overall budget for the program by 38% plus additional benefits, a $110,000 jump up from the previous budget of $290,000.
WSU recently upgraded its indoor practice facility shared by the softball and baseball teams, while upgrades to lights, batting cages and dugouts have been made at Wilkins Stadium. There is also ambition to upgrade to a softball-specific facility to house a locker room, team room, sports medicine room, offices and meeting spaces.
That level of commitment made it an easy decision for Bredbenner to re-up with WSU.
“What gets me excited is the amount of success we’ve had without all of that stuff,” Bredbenner told The Eagle. “We’ve had kids who have put blood, sweat and tears into this program and left it better than they found it. They weren’t coming here because our facilities are top-notch or because we’re getting massive amounts of free gear and free food and things like that.
“We’re starting to catch up in those areas and it’s really cool for me to see the investment in the women’s side that the university has put in. It makes me excited for the future. People are seeing Wichita State has a lot to offer and we’ve had a lot of success and I hope to continue that success.”
In 11 seasons at Wichita State, Bredbenner has a career record of 320-252-1 and become the program’s winningest coach. She has led WSU to two of its three conference championships and four of its six NCAA postseason appearances. The Shockers have also become one of the nation’s best hitting teams in recent seasons under Bredbenner and Economon.
Under the new contract, Bredbenner is set to receive at least a 4% raise each season. If she remains at WSU through the end of her contract, she is slated to earn $198,876 in 2027. The contract also stipulates it is within Saal’s discretion to increase Bredbenner’s base salary and the salary pool for her support staff, which includes associate head coach Elizabeth Economon, pitching coach Presley Bell and director of operations Nicole Pendley, on an annual basis “with the availability of adequate funding.”
The bonuses remain the same, awarding Bredbenner any time WSU wins a conference championship, reaches and advances in the NCAA postseason and meets certain standards in the classroom.
If Bredbenner terminates the contract to leave for another coaching position, she would owe $70,000 to WSU beginning in 2023. The total decreases $10,000 with each passing year, meaning the coach would owe WSU $40,000 if she left in 2026.
If WSU fires Bredbenner without good cause, then it would owe Bredbenner the remaining amount of base salary through the end of her contract.
WSU fans will have a chance to interact with Bredbenner and the rest of the WSU softball team at its annual dinner and auction on Saturday, Sept. 24 in the Multi-Purpose Facility. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. beginning with a cocktail hour and silent auction, followed by a dinner, live auction and program with individual tickets starting at $45.
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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